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Sonmabulist
Written By: Tim Minear
ReviewAfter such a long wait for new episodes, I must say that this episode was worth the wait. Although flawed in certain ways, it was entertaining. Something that definitely stuck out during this episode was the opportunities for continuity. The revelations of Angel's past were not anything new to the viewer if they had watched Buffy:TVS. We all know that in Angel past, during the time of "powdered wigs", Angelus was an extremely violent killer who sired many other killers. It is revealed that Angel has a mental link with those he sired. I began to wonder, when we were first introduced to Spike in the second season of Buffy, did this mental links surface? Another interesting thing about Penn, was his ability to leap from the ground into the air. Maybe in my old age (23) I'm losing it, but I don't recall any other vampires having this ability.Anyways, onto the episode. Relationships were definitely given a good focus in this episode. Angel's relationship to all those around him was moved forward. Although Angel definitely had a very influental relationship with Penn, the use of Penn to further Angel's "relationship" with Kate was at the heart of the story. Up to this point, Kate has trusted Angel to the point of giving him police classified information. The arrival of Penn and his murder spree forces Angel to reveal to Kate that he is a vampire. Throughout this episode Angel asks Kate if she trusts him and her answer continuously is yes. After his revelation to her and her subsequent studying of Angelus' past she immediately distrusts him. This of course is a natural reaction due to Angelus' horrific past and the fact that he was the mentor and teacher of the very killer she is trying to hunt down. Although Kate says that the next time she meets Angel she will kill him, in the end her trust in Angel returns and she dusts Penn, but not Angel. This in my opinion was a downfall of this episode. Although the circumstances of her slaying of Penn had forced her to make a choice at the moment of whether she would kill Angel as well, I wish they would have had Kate stay Angel's enemy for a few episodes. This would have provided some potential for great story telling. Angel's relationship with Cordelia with Cordelia was also furthered along in this episode. The Cordelia of the past would have attempted to stake Angel upon Wesley's revelation that Angel could be the killer that the police are looking. However, she has grown over the years to know and trust Angel. Despite all her airheadedness (is that a word?) Cordelia is a smart cookie. She is a great judge of character and knows who and who not to trust. This is shown perfectly in the scene when Penn is pumping her for information. Cordelia trusts Angel now. She knows inside that there is a possibility that he may return to his evil form, but as her little talk reveals to him in the end she knows he is good and that's all that matters. In a side note, the relationship between Cordy and Wesley was quite interesting. Unlike last year when Cordelia and Wesley were all hot for each other, their attraction to each other seems to have not even existed. Her demeanor towards Wesley reminds me more of her demeanor toward Giles than to someone she had a crush on. Anywaz, I thought this was funny! One final note is on Wesley versus Doyle. Despite Doyle's death two episodes ago and Wesley's recent addition to the show I thought I would comment on their differences. I'm seriously doubting the intelligence of Joss' decision to kill of Doyle and add Wesley as part of the main cast in this episode. Wesley is an "okay" character. But he is more of the same. In Buffy we have Giles and Wesley IS another Giles. Do we need more? Doyle brought character and something new to this show and I for one morn his loss. The show just doesn't feel much different that Buffy. It feels too comfortable with all these characters that we know. Doyle's rough and tumble character was a much needed opposite to Angel's brooding and Cordelia's sarcasm. A- |